Frozen Love
by Ichiru deathstrawberry
Summary: Shiro was their leader, the person all of his followers trusted with their lives. They followed the albino man's every move, no matter the consequences. They were hooked, and soon Ichigo found himself addicted to Shiro just as much as they were. Yaoi AU!
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Ichigo waited patiently as the clock on the wall chimed 3 o'clock in the morning. It was dark and ominous outside of the house, rain just on the verge of pouring down. He jumped slightly at the sound of the chime, but quickly composed himself after a few deep breaths. The silence of his house, along with the deep groans of the floors and walls, they were enough to get to any person who was here alone. Of course, Ichigo wasn't supposed to be alone, not really. Ichigo lived in the house of the person he worked for, and his boss also happened to be his unrequited love.

Shirosaki Hichigo, the albino man that unknowingly held Ichigo's heart in his pale grasp. The older man had hired Ichigo as a personal doctor, someone that could heal him quickly without the inconvenience of going to the hospital. That wasn't all that Shiro had in mind when he hired the teenager, though.

After working with Shiro for a few days, Ichigo found out the true nature of his job. Shiro and his friends were in a gang, they were violent, drug addicts that found themselves in fights with other gangs quite often. Shiro was their leader, the person all of his followers trusted with their lives. They followed the albino man's every move, no matter the consequences. They were hooked, and soon Ichigo found himself addicted to Shiro just as much as they were.

Only problem was, Shiro was straight. Not only did he know about Ichigo's love for him, he also teased him about it. Oftentimes Ichigo would cry himself to sleep at night because of the things Shiro said to him. They broke his heart, and tore down his self confidence.

Shiro also liked to bring girls home. Well technically they didn't count as 'girls' but more as 'drugged out whores', as Ichigo liked to call them. Most of them were prostitutes Shiro picked up on the way back from a job, and Shiro would walk into his private manor and laugh at Ichigo with menacing eyes. Then he would say, "This is what it's supposed to be like."

It broke him. Shiro would purposely make them scream as loud as possible so Ichigo could hear no matter where he was in the large condo. Ichigo couldn't do anything to stop it, and Ichigo wouldn't do anything to stop it. Ichigo was glad he was around Shiro as much as he was in the first place. He didn't know what he would do without the other albino man. Oh yeah, thats right.

He'd die.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Ichigo was laying peacefully in his bed, his body warm and comfortable under the large quilt. Shiro always kept the air conditioning up on high, so the orangette would freeze whenever he got out of the bed. It was okay though, because Shiro liked the cold, and well, Ichigo liked Shiro.

Ichigo unhappily rose from bed when his alarm went off signaling the start of the day. The maids were already bustling about outside, cleaning clothes and making breakfast before their master awoke. The young man slipped on a tight red sweater and a pair of comfortable jeans before going to the bathroom to 'gayify himself' as Shiro had called it on more than one occasion.

Ichigo brushed his teeth until they sparkled, and then quickly ran a comb through his hair to get the tangles out. Now that he was looking at least okay, Ichigo left his room and took a right down the hallway that led to his master's room.

"Master?" Ichigo called while knocking on the wooden door two times. Any more than that and Shiro would get fuckin' pissed. Ichigo was feeling smug since he was about to see his love, but when he heard a woman's voice on the other side of the door, Ichigo's mood dropped to rock bottom. He wore a deep frown as he stepped back to let the door open.

"Who the fuck is this kid?" The woman asked grumpily. She had long orange hair and extremely huge, and unattractive chest. Who would want to have sex with someone that could smother you with their boobs? She wore one of Shiro's white button-up dress shirts without any kind of pants on, and Ichigo was seriously jealous. He had always fantasized about wearing Shiro's clothes after a hot session of passionate sex. It would never happen though in real life though, since Shiro's wish was to wipe all homo's off of the earth forever.

Shiro came out next, and the trio stood in the hallway staring at one another. The albino's pale hair was disheveled and all over the place, and his eyes still drooped from his exhaustion. He yawned loudly before pulled the hooker closer to him and wrapping his arm around her. Ichigo frowned even deeper.

"This is Ichigo, he works fer me." Ichigo almost jumped for joy. That was one of the nicest things Shiro had ever said about him before, and Ichigo's brown eyes brightened as he looked at his love. Maybe Shiro did like him to some extent.

Ichigo bowed deeply, the farther down you went the more respect you had for the person you were bowing to, and muttered, "Good morning Master."

Shiro took the woman and started off for the kitchen. The smell of various foods had spread throughout the whole mansion, so everyone inside was smelling the delicious food. Shiro and his company always ate first, and then the servants were allowed to eat, and finally Ichigo was allowed to indulge himself. Ichigo always ate last, because Shiro didn't want Ichigo to contaminate his other servants with the 'gay disease' Ichigo apparently had.

Shiro and his hooker friend took their seats at the wooden table, where tons of various types of foods were set out for them to eat from. Shiro licked his lips and dove into some bacon and pancakes, while the hooker ate some of the fruit set out. Ichigo stood outside of the kitchen, his emotions completely frayed today.

"What's up Ichigo?" Someone said as they approached the berry who was now sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. His knees were drawn up to his chest, and before the other servant had came, Ichigo had been laying his head down on his knees to rest his eyes. Ichigo looked up to find bright red hair, and a large smile on the other person's face.

"Yo, Renji."

Renji grumbled something to himself before letting his eyes trail slightly over Ichigo's hunched form.

"Why are you on the ground?" He asked his friend, hoping that Ichigo wouldn't keep his emotions bottled up all the time like he usually did. Ichigo had a serious problem about letting his emotions build up, and then explode after it was all said and done.

"I'm just thinking." Was Ichigo's answer. Renji laughed, not too loudly though, because he might disturb the master.

"Aren't you always thinking though?"

Ichigo sighed. Renji just wasn't going to listen to him today, well he didn't listen to a lot of people anyways. Renji was one of Shiro's cooks, and he had been working here for almost four years now. Ichigo had only been here two.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't you have things you need to be doing right now?" Ichigo was trying to make Renji leave him the hell alone. He was friends with the red-head and all, but Renji was just annoying sometimes. Renji's eyes widened and he took off running in the direction of the kitchen, yelling a thank you back towards Ichigo. Finally, Ichigo could breathe and think without anybody interrupting him-, and as if on cue the lovely couple emerged from the kitchen looking wonderfully full.

Ichigo stood up quickly before the duo could see that he was sitting on the floor, and made his way over to them.

"What are you doing?" The woman yelled at Shiro. She was crying, which caused her makeup to run down her tan face. It was a fitting look for her, Ichigo thought, since she was a hooker. Ichigo listened as he got closer, debating on whether or not he should keep listening or if he should walk away.

"I only kept ya for th' fuck, and tha's all. Ge' outta my house!" Shiro pushed the woman towards the door, and then called for some help from his servants as the woman looked at Shiro with hostility. Ichigo decided now was the time to reveal himself, so he jogged up to Shiro and bowed before standing slightly behind his master to show his respect.

"So what, you fuck me and give me breakfast and then it's over?" The woman yelled.

"Ya got it right!" Shiro smiled and clapped stupidly. Shiro had always loved mocking the stupid whores, and Ichigo loved it as well. It just showed that Shiro didn't really care for those nasty people, and that he used them. Ichigo hoped he wasn't being used like they were, but he didn't really think Shiro would use him like that. Maybe a little bit, but not like that.

"You're just a stupid rich guy that needs to get a life! Mother fucker!"

Shiro smiled his deadly smile, letting his teeth show. He snickered before answering.

"I do believe I fucked yer mother. She was better tha' ya by a long shot."

The woman slammed the door shut and ran down the sidewalk with her cellphone in her hand trying to get a ride out of here. Shiro lived away from the city, and instead had a nice condo built especially for him in the woods. It was Shiro's domain out here, the albino owned everything in sight. Ichigo almost snickered out loud, but he wasn't sure how Shiro would react if he did. Shiro didn't do well with noises, the master has always been attracted to the silence.

"God, I hate 'hem whore's." The older man let out a breath he had been holding in, and then looked at his twenty-one year old servant. Ichigo smiled at his master, loving how they were getting along so great today. Ichigo would have to remember every detail about today, the 22 of September 2010. It was an amazing day today.

Ichigo found it in his best interest to reply to his master. "I do not like them that much either, Master."

Shiro barked out a loud laugh, and Ichigo dreaded having said anything now. What would his master reply to that? Something nice? Something horrible? Would Shiro agree with Ichigo?

"Well, ya don' like 'em only 'cause they're girls, and you're a fruitcake Ichi."

That taunts by Shiro only got worse as the day progressed, and Ichigo didn't really mind at all, but that was only because it had been a wonderful day in the beginning. Ichigo really couldn't complain though, since he was the one that stayed here. He was the one who listened to Shiro's rules, even though he could quit at any time. He was the one that was in love with Shiro.

It was his mistake, and Ichigo would never take it back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Ichigo sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time tonight. The stars were out, and the moon was shining so brightly it reflected in Ichigo's chocolate colored eyes. The orangette couldn't concentrate on the beautiful outside world simply because he was extreamly worried about Shiro, who was currently out on a job with his gang somewhere in the city. What they were doing, Ichigo didn't know. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to know in the first place. Shiro's secret life was private, and Ichigo only got to witness a part of it. The medical part that is.

It was almost midnight when Ichigo noticed Shiro's car pull into the driveway. Most of the other maid's and servants were gone by now, so Ichigo was here all by himself. Ichigo's heart was pounding faster as he heard the faint sound of the fount steps being climbed slowly. Shiro was alive! Maybe he was hurt, but he was defiantly alive! Ichigo wanted to scream with joy, but he stood and bowed as deeply as he could when the door opened and Shiro's body stepped inside.

Shiro was covered in sweat, and his shirt was torn in a few places. Some blood had started to seep through the white material of his tee shirt, and Ichigo's mind automatically kicked into medical overdrive. This adrenalin is what he lived for.

"Hey fag."

Ichigo's heart clenched painfully at the name, but he didn't show his hurt. Instead he came over to his master quickly with a large first aid kit in hand, and bowed once again.

"Yes, Master?" His voice wavered a bit, but Ichigo didn't think Shiro would hear the slip up. He didn't.

"You're so disgusting. Why are you even alive, you fag." Ichigo opened his mouth, but closed it. There was nothing he could say to Shiro, and even if he did say something, Shiro would just fire him and kick Ichigo out. The orangette didn't want to leave, no matter what, so he stayed quiet and took the abuse.

Ichigo's fingers were shaking slightly as he opened the clasps on the plastic medical kit. He unbuckled the plastic clasps as quickly as he could, and took out some rubbing alcohol and ointment to clean the fresh cuts that were now littering Shiro's perfect body. Ichigo had only just started to pour some of the alcohol onto a rag when Shiro started to get furious at nothing in particular.

Shiro reached down and slapped the alcohol bottle out of Ichigo's hands, sending the once full bottle flying through the air, and spilling its contents all over the wooden flooring. Ichigo gasped and looked at his master while the bottle continued to empty out, a large puddle starting to form where the bottle laid.

"M-Maste-" Ichigo started to say, but was cut off as Shiro's fist connected roughly with his face. Ichigo whimpered at the rough blow, but he stayed in the same position he was previously in. Even though Ichigo was submissive to Shiro, he wasn't going to start crying or some shit like that. Ichigo could take a punch, even though sometimes he acted like he couldn't.

"Look at tha' mess ya made. Clean it up."

Ichigo looked up at his master through his bangs to see what kind of expression his master could possibly be making at a time like this. Shiro was smirking.

Ichigo shook a little as he stood up and walked quickly to the large spill with a medium-sized rag in his hands. Shiro laughed as Ichigo picked the bottle up and soaked up the strong smelling liquid, his lithe body still shaking in fear and nervousness. By now Ichigo's normally perfect face was showing signs of the punch, his left cheek swollen and starting to bruise painfully. Ichigo was so frustrated with himself, why did he have to be such a horrible servant? He wasn't asked to do much, but still he displeased his master so much.

"I'm sorry for all the distress I have caused you, Master." Ichigo spoke as clearly as he could after cleaning up with alcohol mess. Ichigo was bowing at the pale man's feet, trying to apologize for being so wrong. Apologizing for messing everything up, and most of all, he apologized for not being able to be what Shiro wanted him to be. Shiro just laughed some more.

"Hey Ichi." Shiro called out to the man at his feet. Ichigo's head lifted and their eyes connected, but Shiro couldn't take it. Ichigo looked so innocent and soft, and Shiro couldn't stand to look at it. Ichigo himself disgusted Shiro. It was really rather sad.

Ichigo waited for Shiro to say something, and his gut was telling him that this wasn't going to end up well. It didn't.

Shiro grabbed Ichigo up by his short orange hair and held him so that they were face to face. Ichigo's face twisted in agony, and Shiro was just blank. His feelings were really messed up at the moment, and the only thing he could think to do was..well, take it out on his gay servant.

The room seemed to get darker as Shiro finally noticed the large tears rolling quickly down Ichigo's tan face. It was a horrible sight to see; Ichigo's swollen tear streaked face. It would probably be stuck in his mind forever, no matter how hand he tried to erase it. Shiro painfully released Ichigo's soft hair, his body crumbeled to the floor painfully.

"Ow..." Ichigo whimpered as his head cracked against the floor. His vision seemed to blur for a moment, before focusing back in on the person in front of him.

"Shiro..." Ichigo whispered to the figure.

"Don't you dare say my name! Don't you dare!"

Shiro walked over to the poor downed man on the ground, and kicked him in the stomach before turning to walk off. Ichigo gasped as the foot connected with the tender muscles in his abdomen, and more tears leaked out because of the pain. Everything on his body hurt, and everything in his mind hurt just as much. Shiro probably didn't even know what kind of harm he was causing Ichigo... but it was too late.

Ichigo fell asleep on the floor where he had fallen at, still covered in his tears and blood until morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Unfortunately, Ichigo awoke still lying on the floor. He could tell it was morning since there were maids walking down the hallway, but he wasn't aware of what time it was at all. Ichigo groaned as he sat up, his stomach clenching painfully. He lifted his shirt hesitantly, and instantly his eyes landed on a large purple bruise. It was probably the largest bruise Ichigo had ever received in his life, and a new personal best from Shiro.

"Hey Ichigo, how're you handling?" A small girl walked up to him and held her hand out to help him stand.

"I've been better." He took the offered hand and slowly stood up. His whole body ached, and sleeping on the wooden flooring last night probably didn't help one bit.

"I'm sorry. We all wanted to put you in a bed, but Master specifically ordered for us not to touch you until you awoke."

"It's okay Rukia. Where's Shiro at now?" The dark-haired girl took out a wet cloth and dabbed at Ichigo's blood-covered face. His lip was split in at least three places, and he was sporting a dashing black eye. A chunk of his hair was missing, so he had a small bald spot on the back of his head.

"He's in the kitchen eating...God! Ichigo, you look terrible!"

"I know, please don't remind me. I feel terrible too."

Rukia put her now bloodied town back into her black apron, and put the back of her hand against Ichigo's forehead. She gasped loudly.

"Ichigo! You have a fever!" Ichigo raised his hand to feel his head, but it didn't really work. You couldn't take your own temperature, after all.

"I know, I know. I am the doctor here Rukia, I could feel it." Ichigo snapped while smoothing his hair back. It was greasy and knotted, but there would be time for a shower later. Right now he just needed to report to Shiro before it was too late. He didn't dare accidentally anger his master again after what happened last night.

"You should go to Ishida after you talk to Shiro, he could take care of you better than anyone else here." Ichigo nodded, and smiled at the petite woman.

"Thanks, I will. I'm sorry for worrying you Rukia."

Rukia sighed as she watched her friend limp in the direction of the kitchen with a frown. She had known Ichigo ever since she came to work for Shiro, and the poor guy never got a break. Never.

"You're hopeless Ichigo..."

…...

Shiro was sitting at the large kitchen table eating pancakes drenched in syrup when Ichigo lightly opened the swinging doors and stepped inside. His eyes were downcast as he walked towards the table, well limped towards the table.

"Master..." Ichigo stood before Shiro, looking at anything besides his master. Shiro was dressed in a suit, which only meant that he had business today.

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir." Ichigo held in a yawn as sleep seemed to take over his body. It would have been very unprofessional is he had done such a deed in front of his master.

"Yer forgiven. What happened to yer face?" Ichigo's eyes widened. Did his master really forget, or was he just messing with Ichigo?

"W-Well...you..." He stuttered. If Shiro really didn't remember Ichigo wouldn't be the one to spark the memory.

"I did tha'?" Shiro stood up and tilted Ichigo's face to look at his split lip.

Ichigo didn't say anything, focusing instead on Shiro's gentle touch upon his chin. He almost shivered when he saw Shiro's golden eyes looking at him with something akin to concern. Ichigo must have been mistaken though, Shiro could never love him. He would never even like him.

"You deserved it, you disgusting excuse of a person!" The albino man shoved Ichigo away, and since Ichigo's body was still in so much pain, he couldn't catch himself. Ichigo landed harshly on the tile floor and groaned loudly, ignoring the fact that it was improper to do in front of his master. Ichigo lifted his weak arm and grabbed his now throbbing stomach to ease the pain, which it obviously didn't.

"Lift up yer shirt." Shiro strode over to his servant with a sneer on his face and his right hand clenched into a fist.

Ichigo did as he was told, lifting the shirt as far as he could until his weak arms would go up no further. Instantly the dark purple bruise filled their vision, standing out so easily against Ichigo's perfect skin. Shiro's eyes widened again and his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. His mouth, which was closed at first, was now hanging open as he stared at Ichigo's broken body.

"Ichigo..." He murmured, and if Ichigo didn't have super hearing he wouldn't have heard it. Ichigo didn't dare move as Shiro watched his every move.

Suddenly the albino master sat back down, causing his wooden chair to scrape against the tile loudly.

"Go ta Ishida. You can take tha rest of the day off."

Ichigo watched as Shiro picked up his fork and began to eat his breakfast once again. He bowed as deeply as he could, ignoring the sharp pains in his stomach, and then limped off in the direction of his personal office.

Ishida was the nurse here. He was currently training under Ichigo in case something were to happen to Shiro and Ichigo was not around, he could take care of their master with the simple jobs. Ichigo was still a much better doctor than he was. He opened the creaky office door slowly, and stepped into the brightly lit room.

Once inside, he spotted Ishida rather quickly in the small room. All of the sick beds were empty, thank god, and it seemed that only the doctor and nurse were currently in right now.

Ishida was brewing some sort of salve when he noticed Ichigo standing next to the door. After doing a once over of his appearance, the Doctor was promptly put into a bed before he even knew what was going on.

"Doctor, you look terrible! What happened to you?" The pale man pushed his glasses back up his nose as he wet a rag and placed it on Ichigo's warm forehead.

"Shiro was angry at me last night. On top of that I fell asleep in the hallway floor, which is why I have the fever."

"Tsk tsk. You should have come to me earlier." Ichigo pulled the thin cover up to his chin, and snuggled into the flat hospital pillow that was on the bed.

"Yeah I know. Don't harass me about it, you know I have duties to attend to." The dark-haired man sighed and went to the nearby closet to grab a thicker blanket for his patient.

"That's not going to help the fever, but I figured you wouldn't care right now anyways." Ichigo nodded and smiled warmly as the extra heat from the blanket seeped into his freezing body. It would be better to freeze the fever out, but this would help too. Well, maybe not, but at least Ichigo was warm now. Finally!

"T-Thanks." Ichigo whispered as sleep began to crush him. Everything around him was blurry, and Ishida smiled down at the exhausted man.

"Did Master give you the day off?" Ichigo nodded slightly.

"Then get some sleep. You deserve it after what happened last night. I'm going to hook you up to some fluids while you sleep to make sure that you're body doesn't get dehydrated, okay?"

Ishida figured that the slight movement of Ichigo's head was an indication of 'yeah', so he moved away from the bed to get the supplies for the IV ready. Ishida took Ichigo's arm out from underneath the cozy blankets, earning him a protesting groan of disapproval.

"Come on Ichigo, I need to do this. You already told me I could." Ishida wiped down the crease in Ichigo's elbow with an alcohol swab to clean the injection sight, and then got the needle ready. Once he saw the fluids successfully drip from the needle, Ishida pushed the sharp point into Ichigo's vein with precision, not missing the target like he had done on many occasions. He taped down the needle securely and then laid the appendage next to Ichigo once again.

"There you go Doctor, sleep as long as you want. I'll be here when you wake up."

By then, Ichigo had already fallen asleep though, leaving Ishida alone with his sleeping mentor in the lonely white room. He went to work on the salve once again, keeping a watchful eye on the sleeping berry in the corner.


	5. Chapter 5

Slight fat-bashing, and slight people-named-carl-bashing.

Chapter Four

Ichigo walked down the hallways, cradling his swollen cheek with a cold ice bag that Ishida had given him when he had left the infirmary. When he had woken up this morning Ishida had told him he should take some more time off work, but Ichigo was reluctant, and had decided that he would rather be in pain around Shiro, than be painless sitting on his butt at home alone. Really, to Ichigo, being without Shiro was painful itself. He was a sad individual, he knew that. Ichigo was so dependent on his albino master now, that if he was ever to be away from the other man for a long length of time he would surely kill himself or chase Shiro down until he found him. He was that obsessed, and obsession is a dangerous thing.

He wasn't the only one like that, though. Many of the people, if not all of them, were mistreated by their master, but they just couldn't leave him. There was no way out of his contagious attitude.

Ichigo sighed as he entered through the door to the kitchen, his stomach rumbling its dislike with the low amount of food Ichigo was consuming lately. The kitchen was clean and sparkely like normal, the maids were fantastic here. The orange man walked into the kitchen area where many of the chefs and cooks were busy bustling around getting lunch ready. Ichigo still hadn't eaten breakfast, so he had decided to come here and eat even if it was late. He was too afraid to pass out, so Ichigo wasn't taking any chances.

"Hey Renji." Ichigo stood next to his red-headed friend who was mixing some ingrediants in a large metal bowl with a wooden spoon. A few splatters of the contents were stained upon the once white apron the covered the front of Renji's large body.

"Hey Ichigo, feeling better?" Renji continued to mix, but he still looked at Ichigo while he did it.

"Yeah, thanks. Is there anything left over from breakfast that I can have? I'm starving."

Renji stopped his mixing for a moment and looked away from Ichigo in deep thought. His forehead wrinkled and Ichigo almost laughed at the weird facial expressions he made. Hopefully all chefs weren't so ridiculous like Renji was.

"Sure Ichigo." Renji walked over to a refrigerator and pulled out some batter wrapped up in a bowl. "I can whip you up some pancakes real fast if you'd like."

Ichigo smiled and walked over to a small card table that the workers used to eat at. It was small and worn, and it paled in comparison to Shiro's wooden table that he ate at every morning. It didn't really matter though, after all, it was only a table.

Ichigo watched at his friend as he poured the contents onto a frying pan to get the pancakes started. He drummed his fingertip on the table restlessly, and Ichigo's stomach made a noise of disapproval.

"Wow, sounds like you really are hungry."

Ichigo laughed. "Don't even get me started on that. My stomach is having a conniption fit over here."

"I see." He flipped the now-forming pancakes on their uncooked side quickly and then turned back to look at Ichigo.

"Yeah. So, how's it been? How's life for you and all?"

Renji laughed and leaned against the counter. "Everything's fine on my end. I miss seeing my family all day every day, but work is work I guess."

Ichigo had totally forgotten about Renji having a family at home. He had a wife, two kids, and his mother was living with him because she was having some sort of medical problem. He really did have a full schedule since he was working as a personal chef for Shiro. Well, Shiro did pay well and Ichigo figured Renji did need the large paycheck to support everyone.

"I wouldn't understand." Ichigo really wouldn't know anything about having a family like that. He had moved in with Shiro as soon as he had gotten this job, which was years ago. He remembered his dad, and his two adorable sisters that were fraternal twins, but that was about it concerning his family. Any aunts and uncles he might have had, Ichigo wouldn't have known about them.

"Ah, it's alright. We'll make it somehow." Ichigo smiled at his optimistic friend and watched as his pancakes were plated and syrup was placed on the table for his disposal.

"Here ya are Ichigo. Eat up! I gotta get back to work, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Ichigo almost groaned when the pancakes were placed in front of his, the smell wafting up so that he could smell it in all of it's pancake glory.

Ichigo grabbed the syrup and poured a generous amount onto his pancakes. "Yeah, see ya later."

Renji walked off to yell at some lower level cooks, and Ichigo enjoyed his pancake brunch with delight. What a nice way to start his morning.

Shiro couldn't stand coming to these meetings. Right now someone in alliance with his gang was trying to get someone to convert onto their alliance, and so all sorts of higher ups were needed to be here, Shiro included. He was the leader of Hollow, after all. The gang his best friend and him had started back in...sixth grade? It's been so long he forgot nowadays.

"...and so with these documents signed we welcome you into our alliance." The short stocky man across the table from his stood to shake hands with the ex-hostile, new alliance gang member. He was freaky tall, super skinny, and wore an eye-patch over his left eye. Can anyone say 'obvious gang leader'? Shiro could have sniffed him out miles away.

"Shirosaki, please greet our newest member." The stocky midget gently nudged Shiro out of his thoughts. Shiro didn't even know that bastard's name. He quickly glanced at the paper name-tag that was required to be worn by everyone, Shiro included. Shiro almost laughed when he read the name: Carl. It fit that fat bastard well.

The albino stood and held his hand out to shake with the tall, skinny, spoon-man who was now grinning at him wildly.

"'Sup? I'm Shirosaki, Shiro fer short. Only the fat-asses 'round 'ere call me by my full name."

He laughed and Shiro felt chills creep up his spine. This guys laugh was...creepy to say the least. It was the kind of laugh that serial kills used, or maybe a laugh that the people who pushed babies down staircases used. Something normal people would certainly run away from.

" 'M, Nnorita. Nice ta meet'cha Whitey."

"'Ey, 'ey. Fuck you! Don' call me tha'." Shiro growled. Nnorita smirked and let his long, thin fingers run through Shiro's equally white hair. Shiro then pushed the taller man away, cussing up a storm and he angrily made his exit out of the building the meeting had been held in. It was a special place, owned by mobsters and gangsters. That way, police wouldn't come and thrown their asses into jail.

"This is the beginning of a beautiful partnership." Carl sighed happily as he finished signing the piles of documents that Nnorita and his gang had only finished signing moments ago. Surely with this alliance together, they could finally hold their own against those damn Shinigami...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

Several Days Later...

Ichigo picked up an easily breakable porcelain plate off of Shiro's bedside table; a lot of things had seemed to collect there lately. It was a pretty plate, white with intricate blue lining around the edges. He traced his fingers along the cold surface, knocking off a few crumbs in the process. Ichigo sighed heavily as he gently sat the plate back down and chose to pick up a plastic dispensable cup instead.

"Hey Ichigo." Rukia walked into the room gracefully. She wore a normal maids dress and a decorative black hairband with white lace spiraling off of it upon her head. The whole outfit was obviously influenced by the thorough designs of french dresses designed centuries ago. If Ichigo was straight he probably would have broke through his jeans with a hard on when she walked into the room, ah too bad.

Ichigo gave Rukia a half wave and smiled at her. "Hey. Come to help?"

"Of course. Why else would I just so happen to be here, and with a broom on top of that?" She walked over to Ichigo and light smacked the back of his head. He winced and rubbed the spot while looking at her through his bangs.

"Aw, come on. Be nice to me, would ya?" Ichigo handed her the plastic cup to throw into the trash bin she had carried with her. The cup made a small sound as it hit the bottom of the white trash can; one piece of trash down, only the whole rest of the room to go!

"Stop complaining and start cleaning. We have a lot of work to do, if you haven't noticed that is."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with." Ichigo walked past Rukia to a cluttered area on Shiro's dresser. There were a few cups, a plate or two with food caked on them, and a towering pile of waded up paper. Ah, what a wonderful, clean person Shiro was.

Thirty minutes, five trash bags, and 4 sponges later Shiro's room was looking like any other normal household living space. Ichigo groaned and sat down on the couch, Rukia stretching before taking a seat next to him on the black leather.

"Hey Rukia, have you heard about the newcomer yet? He's supposed to be starting soon."

She nodded and ran a hand through her now greasy hair. All of that cleaning had made both of them overly sweaty, and it was really nasty. Ichigo wanted a shower pronto.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be here sometime today; that's what I heard from Shiro."

Ichigo frowned. "Really? What's he like?"

She shook her head and stood. "Who knows? If Shiro's hiring him he must be something special though. That's all I know."

She started off out of the living room, and gently closed the door behind her without even muttering a good-bye to Ichigo. Ichigo sucked a breath through his teeth while he dusted off a pile of dirt on his pants. Shiro was really going to bring someone new to the house? He hadn't done that since...himself. Everyone that was currently here had been hired before Ichigo had, so he was the newcomer still. At least when this new guy came, there would be someone less experianced than him here. That would be a good thing, right?

Ichigo stood around the doorway along with all the other staff that worked for Shiro. Ichigo could see Renji and Rukia standing next to each other on the other side of the semi-circle, and beside them was Ishida. Ichigo himself was standing next to a few people he rarely talked to, like Keigo and Mizuiro, who really just kept to themselves.

Everyone was whispering about this supposed 'newcomer', and how amazing he must be to gain the attention of the master. Ichigo was quite interested too, after all, something like this didn't happen often. He wished he were standing next to his friends, but it was too late to move now. Shiro casually strolled in wearing some sleek jeans and some aviators over his eyes. His jacket collar was pulled up, and the white hair that was normally sticking out in every direction was spiked up by gel. Seriously, Shiro must love this guy or something. He never got dressed up for anything.

"Yo." The albino threw out to the crowd with a shrug of his sholders.

Everyone remaind silent and calm as he slid over to stand next to Ichigo with a grin plastered on his face like usual. He seemed so relaxed, and Ichigo would have bet some good money that he was a overweight cat in his previous life. Ichigo almost jumped when he heard the knob on the door turn at rattle loudly, like the person on the other side was asking permission to enter.

"Com'on in." Shiro gave Ichigo a sly glace from the corner of his eye, and Ichigo, being as perceptive as he is, didn't miss the small movement. The golden eyes had looked at him mockingly, so the orange-headed teen couldn't help but shiver. Shiro had something planned, something that had to do with him.

The crowd tensed together as the doorknob finally twisted completly and the door started to slide open. Air seemed to part ways for the three men that entered, and everyone else started to lean away from the new occupants in the room. The air around them was dangerous, and most of the workers here strayed away from anything too potentially harmfull.

One man was tall, so skinny that it looked like he didn't eat, and a white eyepatch covered his left eye. Ichigo's gut wrenched at the look of him. He was wearing loose clothing, and his stone-washed jeans had a few holes in them around the knees. A few expensive looking rings hung onto the man's boney fingers, but Ichigo only got a glance at them because the hands were quickly stuffed into the man's pockets.

He looks like the kind of man who eats kittens...and children. Ichigo bit his lip as anxiety made his body want to shake. He held strong, though, as he spotted golden eyes watching him with a frown. Shiro didn't need a weak right-hand man, he needed a strong on who refused to cower at the sight of some new guy with an eye patch.

"This is Nnoitra, my new partn'r."

Shiro's voice broke the silence, and Ichigo's trance he had somehow gotten into. With a shaky breath, Ichigo looked at the people standing next to him with a curious eye. Wide eyes were a common look throughout the room, and Ichigo couldn't help but mirror the expression.

The door closed behind the three as they finally made their way into the room. Now that the light was dimmer, it was harder to see, but Ichigo figured his eyes would adjust and he'd be able to see clearer in a moment or two.

Nnoitra glared at the people standing in the room with malice.

"You throwin' me a fuckin' party or somthin'?"

Shiro's smile only widened as he barked out a laugh. "You wish. Ya ain't special enough ta get a party yet."

"Yeah?" The tall man slowly creeped towards Shiro until they were standing side-by-side. Ichigo wanted to run towards the other side of the room, but his fear of the newcommer overpowered any feeling inside of him.

"Who'd you bring with, Nnoi?" Shiro peeked past Nnoitra and locked eyes with one of the other men. Ichigo's eyes slid over them both, and he figured all of them were tired of being eye-raped.

"One on the left's my lil' broth'r, and the other one's my right-hander."

The man indicated as Nnoitra's 'little brother' stepped forward and smiled at Shiro. "Call me J."

"Intrestin' accent ya got there, where ya from?" Shiro was thoroughly pleased with the overall attitude and look of the other man. Heck, Ichigo was too. He looked like the complete opposite of Nnoitra. J was short, maybe 5'2, and weighed about the same amount that Ichigo did. He had the same piercing brown eyes, but the smile was much friendlier looking than his brother's. He was wearing khakis and a sweater-vest, and a pair of glasses sat on his nose.

"Been down in Australia for awhile. It's nice there and all," brown eyes flicked to Ichigo's for a milisecond before making it's way back to Shiro," but, I think I'm starting to like it here."

Ichigo flushed red, and by red he meant deep from-the-pits-of-hell red. He quickly covered his face with shaking hands, and took a breath to calm down. He figured this 'J' guy was smirking at him, knowing that he had hit Ichigo with that look. Why the hell were people always picking on him of all people?

When J stopped talking Ichigo finally found the courage to remove his hands. J and Nnoitra were now standing next to Shiro as the other man decided to introduce himself. Ichigo could barely pay attention as he felt J move over next to him. With a quick jerk of his arm, J successfully brushed his appendage against Ichigo's, and the orange-headed man blushed some more.

The other man was still talking, but Ichigo hadn't registered a word of it yet. His hair was a sandy yellow color, quite the contrast to Nnoitra and J's own black, but his eyes were a rich chocolate brown like the others'. He looked like a calm person, but also like an extreamly submissive person. Nnoitra probably ran all over this poor guy.

"Well, it's nice havin' you all in my humble abode an' all, but I need rest. Ichigo." Shiro turned to his servent and stared at him with a serious look. Ichigo quickly moved so that he was in front of his master, and he bowed before looking at the albino questioningly. By now the crowd of people were moving away from the scene and back to their respected jobs, and some were even leaving for the day. The room was close to empty in no time.

"Show J 'n Tesla to their rooms. Me an' Nnoi have some business to attend to. Go' tha'?" Ichigo nodded twice.

"Of course, Sir." His voice was a little shaky from not using it since earlier, but Shiro smiled at his answer and grabbed Nnoitra by his sleeve.

"Com'on Nnoi!" Shiro bounced off happily with the taller man following closly behind. Ichigo fought off his curiosity with a frown, and tured to find himself face-to-face with the men he was supposed to help.

"Hiya, Traffic Cone." Ichigo's eyes widened. A toothy grin slid across J's pale face, and the look he gave the other man was nerve-wracking. Ichigo couldn't help but close his eyes, and wish these invaders would be leaving the house soon, sooner than soon. As long as these men were in the house, everything was going to be crazy.


	7. Chapter 7

Cue the 'WTF' faces.

Chapter Six

Ever since J and company had arrived, Ichigo had been dealing with triple the work load. Rukia was constantly cleaning up after everyone, and Ichigo was sent on errands for hours on end. It was overly stressful for the whole household, but Shiro seemed to enjoy to company. Ichigo had to admit, he was insanely jealous. J had been almost attached to Shiro's hip the entire time, and Ichigo felt raw anger build in him every time he saw them together. His nerves were paper thin and on the verge of breaking by the second day.

Right now, Ichigo sat in one of the red cushioned chairs in his room with his sock covered feet propped up on the table in front of it. He let out a sigh of relief as his tired muscles started to relax and his body melted into the fabric around him. His chest gently rose and fell with the pattern of Ichigo's calm breathing, and the infamous orange hair was flying in every direction without a care. He was just starting to teeter on the edge of consciousness when a loud knock echoed in his quiet room.

Ichigo woke with a shock, thinking that he had just experienced one of those dreams that make you jump, but when another clear knock rapped on his door Ichigo knew he was actually awake. He blinked rapidly for a moment to wake himself up better, and yawned loudly a moment later.

"Coming, coming." The man complained to himself as he wobbled over to the door on unsteady legs. With a deep huff, the orange-headed man pulled the door open.

"Hiya, Doc."

Ichigo blanched as his eyes landed on J, bloody and wet, standing in his doorway. The dark haired man only offered a pitiful smile while he held a shaking hand over on of his still bleeding wounds.

"J? What the fuck?" Ichigo quickly scampered out of his room and to the other man's side. With sure fingers, Ichigo picked J's shirt up and glanced at the stab wounds littering his stomach. Some were shallow, and a few of them were considerably large in size, but one in particular stood out to the doctor as he took count of all the blemishes. A large gash starting on J's chest and working it's way down to his navel in a crooked line was the worst Ichigo could see right now.

"What in the world happened?" Ichigo watched J's face twist in pain for a moment before he bit his lip and held in a groan.

J let out a shaky laugh and ruffled his hair. "Traffic Cone," he paused and leaned against the nearby wall as his balance weakened, "how about we c-continue the explanations after I'm not bleeding to death in a h-hallway, kay?"

Ichigo's eyes widened at the mention of death, and finally he came out of the shock enough to wrap his arm around the shorter man and balance his weight for him.

"Let's get to the infirmary, just let me call Ishida real-" Ichigo started to fish in his pocket for his cell phone, but his hand was grabbed by one of J's bloody ones.

"Please, no." Ichigo looked at J questioningly, and with a tired sigh J continued with an explanation. "Brother told me not to get into trouble while we were here, and I didn't, not really." Ichigo gave him a hard glare to voice his confusion without actually saying a word.

"Let's just say that trouble found me in-instead." J's eyes dropped. "Come on Doc, imma 'bout to pass out here."

For a moment Ichigo contemplated calling Ishida even if J hadn't wanted that, but the black haired man had started to lose consciousness so Ichigo wrapped his arms around the other man tightly and set a quick pace for the both of them down the hallways to the infirmary. J wasn't heavy, but he wasn't exactly light either. On their track towards the office Ichigo had almost dropped J a few times, but he would never tell anyone that. Ichigo was just hoping that J was too out of it to notice the slips.

Ichigo threw the door to his office open and with practiced finesse he laid J's now still body on one of the empty beds. He ran over to the singular office chair by the lab desk and grabbed his lab coat off of the back of the worn furniture. With a huff, Ichigo stood next to J stubbornly. He almost didn't want to help, but his natural medical instincts told him to fix this guy up no matter how uncouth he was. Ichigo pulled his gloves on tight and looked up to the ceiling with his eyes clamped shut and a drying bloodstain smeared on his cheek.

"God help me." He whispered.

Nnoitra tried to roll over in the overly large bed he was currently in, but found it difficult with the blankets wrapped so tightly around his body. The room wasn't dark, but it wasn't considerably bright either. It was light enough for Nnoitra to make out the objects close to him without trying too hard.

"Fuck." The 'taco-ed' man swore as he wiggled and thrashed until the blankets gave and released him. With a grateful sigh, Nnoitra stretched to get the kinks out of his stiff muscles. With a high reaching arm stretch and a loud crack of his knuckles, Nnoitra finally took stock of the other man laying in the bed a mere four inches away from where he was perched on the edge of the mattress. The top of Shiro's head was sticking out from underneath the blanket, and Nnoitra sneered at the body before shaking him roughly.

"The hell?" Shiro mumbled in a sleepy voice as he rose slowly. The blanket fell away and Shiro's pale broad chest came into sight. Nnoitra smirked as he saw that the pale chest was covered in large red marks and white streaks, just the way Nnoitra remembered from the night before.

"Mornin' Sunshine." Nnoitra laughed heartily when Shiro shot him an annoyed glare.

"Ya should know bett'r than to wake me up early after last night." Shiro grumbled to the taller man as he stood. His legs screamed in protest, and his back protested even louder at the harsh movement, but Shiro ignored it and stood anyways. Nnoitra took in the sight of Shiro's still naked body standing before him with a lustful glint in his eye. It was like a repeat of last night all over again.

"You," the black haired man stood as well and came face-to-face with Shiro while bearing a toothy grin, "should know better than ta stand naked in fron' a me like tha'."

"Oh?" The albino whispered as he leaned into the considerably taller man and wrapped his arms around Nnoitra's thin neck. Nnoitra's body reacted nicely, the nerves on his skin seeming to remember Shiro's touch.

"So, last night was the first time ya ev'r slept with anoth'r dude, right?"

Shiro nodded his head as best as he could with his face pressed into Nnoitra's shoulder. Nnoitra grinned with excitement when a small discolored tongue darted out and pressed against his neck. He shivered as the wet muscle traveled up the expanse of his neck, and after reaching his jawline the appendage went back into Shiro's awaiting mouth.

"Did'ya like it?" Nnoitra bent down, picked Shiro up, and wrapped his arms around the smaller man's body with ease. Shiro smiled, which gave Nnoitra goose bumps; either from being so turned on, or the fact that Shiro's smiled was damned scary sometimes.

Pale lips tickled Nnoitra's ear, and Shiro's warm breath fanned onto his neck as the albino rose from Nnoitra's neck to answer him. He leaned in as close as possible and whispered.

"Hell to the fuckin' yes."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Seven

Ichigo watched J's chest expand and contract slowly as he slept in the infirmary's bed. Blood was still littering almost every white space, and it was completely obvious that something serious had went down in the small space. Ichigo's white coat had been discarded and was now a bloody heap in the corner of the room along with a few pairs of blood-stained gloves. The orange-headed male let out a long, tired sigh and stood up slowly so he wouldn't get dizzy.

Fortunately, Ichigo was an amazing doctor. J's injuries had been life threatening, but Ichigo had pulled the other man back from the dangerous line of death. If J hadn't come to Ichigo when he did...

Ichigo didn't dare think of what the consequences would have been.

Ishida peeked in the room and let his eyes fall on the tired form of a certain Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Mr. Kurosaki, I suggest you return to your room and sleep for a few hours at least. I can take over care of the patient from here."

Ichigo jumped at the unexpected voice in the room, and he turned to look at his underling with a grateful look etched on his face.

"Seriously? Are you up for it? There's a number of things that could go wrong from here, his heart could still stop beating any moment and-"

Ishida put his hand up and quieted the rambling doctor. "I understand. If anything serious happens I will not hesitate to retrieve your assistance."

Ichigo let out a long flow of breath. He unknowingly popped his aching fingers, and rubbed his trembling hands up and down his chilled arms.

Ichigo smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem, Doctor. Just please, take care of yourself, okay?" Ishida looked long at the smaller man, and mentally took note of his pale complexion and skinnier body. That man sure was letting himself go.

Ichigo nodded his thanks to Ishida and closed the door behind him as he exited. He couldn't have wished for a better man to be training under him, Ishida was a saint. With that said, Ichigo moved down the hallways at a pace so slow that a snail would laugh heartily and with a dead look that would attract zombies from all over America. And yes, that was an insult to America.

Ichigo's head met the softness of his pillow for thirty seconds before his door had been rammed down in the most violent matter. The suddenness of it all had surprised Ichigo quite a bit, and he was now looking at his door with big eyes from the comfort of his floor.

"Mother fucker!"

Ichigo blinked. And then blinked again. J's brother was standing in his doorway looking severely pissed off.

"Uh-" Ichigo couldn't come up with anything to say, so he sat and looked at the tall man in front of him like some sort of complete fool.

"Where tha fuck's my broth'r?" He demanded. Ichigo caught a glimpse of someone behind Nnoitra, and almost groaned when Shiro's confused look met his eyes.

Ichigo groaned loudly. "Shi-t." He growled angrily as he laid back down on the floor.

"Answer the question, ya lil' shit." The taller man strolled over to Ichigo with fire in his eyes, and with the swiftness of a hawk, he had bent down and picked Ichigo up by his hair.

"Woah!" Shiro chimed in as he watched his subordinate jerked up off the ground. "Calm down, will ya."

"Fuck this!" Ichigo cringed as he was dropped, and he curled into a tight ball when he noticed the foot coming towards his unprepared body.

"Nnoi! Let him talk, for fuck's sake!" Wow, Shiro was defending him.

Ichigo caught his breath and sat up. His body was not happy with this action. The lack of sleep and the large amounts of physical abuse were starting to catch up with his small body.

"He's in the infirmary."

"Take me to 'em! Fucking hell, now!"

Ichigo scurried up, but fell back in a wave a fatigue. Of coarse, with eyes like that looking down at him there was no way he was going to actually stay down there. Ichigo, one again, stood up and was successful this time. His body teetered on his unsteady feet, and his vision was blurry by now, but Ichigo still quickened his pace and led the two men to his domain.

He pushed the door open, and Ishida looked at him disapprovingly. "Now Mr. Kurosaki, I thought we agreed that you would at least sleep for a-" He stopped as he took in the menacing form of Nnoitra.

"Where is he?" Nnoitra boomed and his eyes glanced restlessly around the small space. Finally it landed on the barely moving form he was looking for.

"What-what the hell happened to him?" All of the men moved towards the sleeping body of J.

Shiro looked too shocked to say anything, the same could be said for Ishida who was now standing awkwardly as far away from Nnoitra as he could.

"He-he showed up on my doorstep hours ago-o, and-and-and-" Ichigo's vision went black. He felt his head connect roughly with the tile flooring, and the last thought that entered his mind was:

ow.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Eight

Feinting from exhaustion wasn't something on Ichigo's daily agenda, and he could only remember one other time that it had ever even happened to him. His eyes were blinking slowly as he noticed the circle of bodies around him, and he scrunched his face up as someone shifted and the bright light came into his sights. Heavy lids drooped again, and that small moment of his eyes being closed made Ichigo feel mighty content. He hadn't been this tired in ages.

"Ichi?" Ichigo's fogged mind recognized the small voice and he instinctively turned to it with a scowl.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing out of bed?" he had meant for his voice to come out more scornful, but it was weak and small. Ichigo cleared his throat and sat up, his eyes never leaving J's.

J stood next to his brother with a crooked smile, although a little slumped over. The white bandages around his otherwise naked torso were showing the signs of re-opening, with little stains of red marking the trouble areas. Ichigo blushed when he noticed that J was, in fact, wearing only a pair of tight gray sweatpants hanging low on his chiseled hip bones.

"Are you okay?" Ishida suddenly appeared and pressed his hand against Ichigo's forehead. "You don't have a temperature. How do you feel?"

Ichigo attempted to laugh, but it caught in his throat. Suddenly, he felt like a fish out of water and his mouth seemed impossibly dry. "Water first?" he asked Ishida who nodded and stalked off, quickly returning with a glass of ice water.

After a few gulps of the precious liquid, Ichigo sat the glass cup down and rubbed his eyes to try and wake himself up. He felt uncomfortable being the object of everyone's stares, and a light blush flew up his neck and spread across his nose.

"Um..."

Shiro was looking at Ichigo with hawk eyes, and at that moment Ichigo wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the floor to escape it. He shrunk a little, and bit his lip.

"Here." J reached out with his hand to help the scared doctor up. After a moments pause, Ichigo took the hand and helped J hoist his body up. J's body obviously couldn't handle the weight, and as Ichigo finally stood J fell into him. Everyone flinched as the watched the expected fall of one of the two young adults, but the fall never came. Shiro held onto the both of them, his left arm around Ichigo's back and his right hand grappling onto J's own arm.

"Good God, will someone please get the both of them into a bed before someone gets hurt again!" Ishida ran over to Ichigo's side like a mother hen and then turned to J who was wobbling on his feet.

"Someone escort Dr. Kurosaki to his room, please." Ichigo watched as J was promptly laid back into the nearest hospital bed and Ishida hovered over him with concern on his face. J looked annoyed, and when he looked away from the nurse he noticed Ichigo who blushed as J's dark eyes locked with his own.

Shiro suddenly threw his arm around Ichigo's torso to hold his weight. "C'mon Ichi."

It was awkward, to say the least, to be leaning so heavily on his long term crush while walking to his room. Ichigo felt as if something intense was going to happen just by the pretense of the scene so far. He was half expecting sudden waves of cherry blossom petals to be swirling around the two or something strange like that. It was too freakin' quiet, Ichigo concluded, as the only sound heard were the soft creaks in the floorboards.

The orangette cleared his throat as the distance between him and his room lessened considerably. Shiro didn't make any sudden movement to start a conversation, and Ichigo was internally debating with himself if he should say anything or leave things be as they were. The lesser voice won, and Ichigo held his tongue; a difficult task for him at the moment. Everything in his vision was starting to blur as Ichigo felt his body almost give in to its desire for sleep, but Shiro shook his shoulder.

In front of the two was Ichigo's clearly marked door. The t-shirt Ichigo was wearing was crumpled with all the activities of the day, and his khaki pants were starting to slip down his hips. The cold metal had barely caressed Ichigo's hand when Shiro turned Ichigo around and pulled him into a sloppy embrace.

"Wha-!" Ichigo almost struggled because of the suddenness of the act, but as soon as he felt Shiro's warm body press against his all rational thoughts fled his mind. It was like a door had opened and his brain just oozed out. Ichigo wouldn't have even been able to string together a coherent sentence at this point.

The older man's arms were lazily draped across Ichigo's stiff back, and the taunt muscles of both men rubbed against each other in an unnoticeable way. With a little encouragement from Ichigo's inner voice, the orange-headed man lifted his arms to finally return to small, but unexpected gesture.

What do you do in this kind of situation?

Scream,

Cry,

Laugh,

Smile,

Freak out?

Ichigo did not know! So, with the voice in his head protesting heavily, Ichigo pulled away from Shiro and backed up three steps to get a better look at his master. When you find yourself in this kind of situation; lack of sleep, your long time crush hugging you, and being stressed, you never really know what's going to pour out of your mouth. Ichigo said the first thing that came to his mind, and instantly regretted it.

"Are you drunk?"

The sound caught both men off guard, and Ichigo lifted his hand to cover his mouth. The damage had already been done though, and Shiro's eyes met his. Embarrassment literally rolled off of his pale body in large waves, and Ichigo was stunned. A light color of pink was painted across the bridge of Shiro's nose, but was hid with a hand as Shiro covered his face.

Shiro was embarrassed? Ichigo almost giggled like a girl with delight.

"Shiro-" Ichigo started, he paused however, as he tried to find the right words to say. Right as the words were about to roll off his tongue, a shadow appeared in the corner of Ichigo's vision, looming over the both of them.

"What's taking so long?" A gruff voice appeared behind Shiro, and both men jumped at the sudden intrusion. Nnoitra's lithe body stood menacingly behind Shiro's shorter body, and the white haired man seemed to snap out of whatever daze that had been over him.

"Get tha fuck in yer room and go to bed." Shiro demanded, and Ichigo's heart sank a bit knowing that whatever moment the two men had finally been having had completely disappeared with the appearance of another person.

"Yes sir." Ichigo turned slowly and moved to go into his room, but just for laughs, he gave one last look over Shiro's face. Now the face was turned away from him and facing Nnoitra, who was giving Ichigo the smirk of a lifetime. A hungry grin spread over the taller man's scary features, and he grasped Shiro's loose flannel shirt by a finger and drug the smaller man behind him as he walked back to his own room.

Ichigo's heart stopped. There was no way that...Shiro...and that guy...were together?

The next morning was much more unpleasant than Ichigo had figured it would have been. He had expected some toast from Renji that morning, and maybe a friendly 'hello' from Shiro considering they had had a moment yesterday, but none of that happened. Renji had told Ichigo that the cooks were out of sliced bread, and it would be awhile before their lackey got back from the store, and when Ichigo passed his master on his way to the infirmary, he noticed the man was limping slightly. Bad day his ass, this was horrible. Torture.

Ichigo couldn't see straight. He quickly dashed to his office as soon as Shiro was out of his sight. Ishida was currently out, but J was sitting quietly on the bed reading a book titled, 'Eragon'. It looked familiar, in fact, Ichigo swore that was the exact book from his shelf in his room. J looked up to greet Ichigo, but the door to his office closed behind him before any words could be exchanged.

Ichigo's anger continued to spike, and as he grabbed a glass to make himself a drink, his right hand closed painfully tight around the cool glass and the thin material gave way under his strength in no time. Shards of glass went into his hand, and the rest fell loudly to the ground. Now he was even more pissed, so with an angry growl Ichigo threw the remaining part of the glass against the wall and watched with satisfaction as it crashed into hundreds of slivers. The pale walls of his office were now ripped in some places where the glass had actually went through.

"Shit." now Ichigo's hands were shaking as he came down from his anger high. The adrenaline that was flowing through his veins had suddenly halted as a tap sounded on the window of his office door.

"Traffic Cone? You alive?" shit, it was J coming to see what all the racket was about. What would he tell him?

Oh hey J, I was just pissed 'cause your one and only brother is sleeping with the love of my life and I want to kill him. Care to help me?

He didn't fucking think so.

"Yeah J, I'm fine. You can go back to reading, sorry to disturb you." Ichigo wobbled over to the nearby counter and opened to cabinet hanging over the small table. Inside was a collection of pill bottles; all sizes, colors, and affect all varying wherever you looked. A small familiar bottle stuck out to Ichigo and he reached up to grab it.

"Are you sure you're all right? I heard a pretty big crash, sounded like glass. Are you hurt? Can I come in?"

Ichigo's breath halted as he looked from the door to the bottle in his hands.

"NO! I mean, don't worry! I'm just...just studying! Studying some medical terms, and uh...i dropped one of the beakers that were on my desk! Everything's fine!" He ran some water in the sink and dipped his head down to get a mouthful, quickly coming back up and dropping two small tablets of xanax into his mouth and swallowing quickly.

"Traffic Cone, something's up. I swear, if you don't open this door right now I'll call Shiro and my brother to come get you out on their-!" The door flung open, like J had figured it would. Ichigo looked completely ravished, and J's mouth almost started watering.

"You look...out of it, to say the least. It's not a bad look on you though." Ichigo smiled at this. That's exactly what he needed to hear right now, sweet compliments to boost his self-consciousness that was hurting pretty badly right now.

"I guess." He stepped into the patient room and closed the door behind him so J wouldn't get a peek of the destruction he had caused only moments ago.

Both men took a seat, Ichigo finding purchase in a nearby leather chair and J sitting on his hospital bed with the cover wrapped around him. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a moment, but J broke it as he sighed loudly to gain Ichigo's attention.

"Wanna know something cool?" J watched as Ichigo gave him his full attention and Ichigo crossed his legs to get more comfortable in the rickety chair. J took Ichigo's silence as permission to continue, and he smiled at the other man.

"J's not really my name, ya know. My first name just starts with the letter 'j'. Bro told me it was safer to go by an alias, even though he doesn't do it himself."

The younger man wasn't terribly surprised by this, he had figured J hadn't been the newcomer's real name.

"Well then," Ichigo sat on the edge of his seat and gave J an alluring smile. "Do tell what your name actually is then."

J laughed. "What if I don't?"

Ichigo stood and tried to look like he wasn't that interested in finding out the name, even though it was currently eating at him. He was going through every 'j' name he knew, trying to find one that suited the other man.

J hadn't expected Ichigo to not return the flirt, and he gaped as Ichigo made his way to the door nonchalantly.

"Hey-hey! Woah, not so fast Tiger, I was just messing with you! No need to be so hasty, God." J felt relieved when Ichigo turned around with a large smile on his face and sat back down in the same position he had been in moments before.

"Jase. My real name's actually Jase." He stuck out his tongue as the name rolled out of his mouth for the first time in months. Again Jase scrunched up his face in disgust as he continued. "Jase Jasper Jiruga. My mother had fun naming me, if you couldn't tell already."

"It's cute." Jase rubbed his nose and smiled, trying to hide the fact he was very excited to be having this talk with Ichigo. Ichigo, on the other hand, was completely embarrassed. Jase was still only wearing a pair of sweatpants, and Ichigo was known to have a wandering gaze. There was no way to keep his eyes off of the gorgeous six pack just sitting in front of him, no matter how hard Ichigo tried.

"S'not cute at all. You on the other hand..." Jase trailed off and Ichigo stiffened. Beside him his hands curled into fists as the awkwardness of the new-found conversation hit. Ichigo didn't know what to say, and Jase seemed to be stumped as well.

"That wasn't supposed to come out like that...um-" The dark haired man started to nibble on his thumb as he watched Ichigo who was sporting large eyes and an open mouth.. He figured the younger man would bolt as soon as possible, but nothing happened. Nothing moved.

"Fuck it." Jase stood, a little unsteady at first, and made his way over to the still sitting man as quick as possible. Ichigo flinched as Jase's hand connected with the wall beside his head, and then dark eyes were so close he could see the flecks of green in them that were otherwise unnoticeable.

"Jase!" Jase couldn't stop his hand from winding in orange hair, and he reveled in the feeling of the silky strands between his fingers. It was as soft as he had imagined. Ichigo's voice had reached his ears, but Jase barely heard the sweet sound. He was so close to the object of his desire, there was only one thing left to do.

"Jase, what in the world do you think you're doing!" Ichigo struggled a bit, but Jase's hands pinned both on Ichigo's wrists to the wall. Ichigo gasped loudly as Jase's lips came close enough to his own so that if either of them were to say something, their lips would touch. Shiro's face briefly flashed in his mind before Jase had closed the agonizingly small distance between them.

How many emotional roller coasters was one allowed to ride in one day? Certainly not as many as Ichigo had been given the pleasure of riding. At this rate he was bound to get emotional whiplash.

Jase's lips were trying to coax some sort of response out of Ichigo, but the orangette was unsure if he wanted to do just that. The offered lips were soft and Ichigo felt lured in to the kiss just because of that fact. He hadn't been intimate with anybody in a long time...

He gave in. Shiro be damned, this was now. Jase was here, offering himself to Ichigo. The least Ichigo could do was take him up on it.

And with that decided, Ichigo finally kissed Jase back. His eyelids slid closed as he took in all the new sensations that were all categorized under Jase. The was Jase held his cheek as they kissed, and the way his other hand gently massaged his scalp just made Ichigo give in more. Ichigo parted from the kiss for two seconds at most before delving back in and deepening the kiss and turning it in to a make-out session.

The taller man hummed his approval as Ichigo's tongue slipped through his lips and tickled the roof of his mouth before retreating back into his own cavern.

"Damn Ichigo." Jase whispered against the others lips. Jase's hands were in the front pockets of the orange-headed man's jeans, and Ichigo's hands were around Jase's neck.

"Yeah, 'damn Ichigo' indeed."

Shit, Shiro.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Nine

Ichigo knelt at Shiro's feet, a very unconvincing scowl trying to mask his nerves.

Shiro frowned as the scene played over and over in his mind. He had caught them kissing; J and Ichigo kissing! It was disgusting, it was careless, it was-it was...

It was heartbreaking. Thin pale fingers grasped the material around where his heart was as it fluttered from the mixed emotions thrust so suddenly upon him.

Ichigo let his eyes slowly moved from the hardwood flooring, up Shiro's dress pants covered legs, until finally his gaze lock in on saddened gold eyes. Disappointment leaked from Shiro's body, filling Ichigo up and up until he could almost not handle the overbearing pressure.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo pleaded. Sobs threatened to escape his mouth, but he sealed his lips together tightly to hold them in.

"Do you want ta leave me? Do you want ta go with them, fight fer them?" Shiro closed his eyes and held his breath.

"Of course not! I want you, only you, Master. Always you."

"That's wha' I thought."

Ichigo's body shook with anticipation. The fog that revealed his future only worsened as this fiasco got more and more out of hand. Ichigo loved Shiro, but Shiro didn't love him back. Now this 'Jase' character made the moves on Ichigo, but Ichigo couldn't do it. He wouldn't.

"I'm so sorry, Shiro." Ichigo brought his bottom lip into his mouth to chew on. He hadn't meant to let Shiro's name slip, but the albino didn't seem to care about the slip-up. Nothing was said for a few minutes, and as the soft tick of the seconds going by echoed in the room, Ichigo realized something. Shiro was being protective. Maybe he just needed a little coaxing.

So Ichigo stood up, gauging each reaction the similar looking man made as he wobbled on his feet. A newborn horse taking his first steps.

"Shiro," Ichigo liked the way his name sounded out of his own mouth. "You don't need to be afraid."

A feral growl ripped from the older man's throat. "I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid of anything!"

"It's okay." Ichigo started again, speaking softly as if Shiro were a delicate creature waiting to dart. "I won't leave you, so don't be afraid. I don't like seeing you like this."

"What do you know about fear, Ichigo? What can you possibly know about fear?" Ichigo didn't say anything, but held his head up against the albino's words.

"That's right, you know nothing of fear, Ichigo, so don' speak of that to me like you understand what I go through."

Memories of bruising kicks and cruel words flooded Ichigo's mind, and if he hadn't been feeling fear during those times, he didn't know what to call it. Ichigo knew what it was like to fear for you life, whether his master knew it or not.

"You're not weak if you're afraid. What are you afraid of, Master?"

Again Shiro only sat still, quietly avoiding Ichigo's suddenly intrigued eyes. Ichigo was searching for answers he himself didn't know. Ichigo cleared his throat.

"Do you want to know what I'm afraid of?" He took the silence as a yes. "I'm afraid of spiders, and messing up when I'm patching someone up. I'm afraid of losing everyone who dares to care about me," Ichigo didn't miss Shiro's eyes widening.

"And I'm afraid that you'll give up on me and cast me away. That is what I fear most, because you're all I really have left, Master."

"Get out of my room." Shiro growled as he stood, a dark aura swirling around his body, but water sliding in small trails down his pale cheeks. Ichigo had struck a nerve...or four.

The orangette shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his slacks and nodded before turning to leave. Right before exiting the room Ichigo put his hand on the door frame and sighed.

"If you need anything, call me. And...please take what I've said into consideration. Hate looks terrible on you, Shiro."

The door finally closed and Shiro sucked in a deep breath. His heart was racing, and his mind was racing faster. When had Ichigo's words started to effect him? When had he become so lax with a servant?

When did he finally find emotion confined in himself so deep that only an orange haired man could find it?

Shiro felt his legs start to shake, and he took a seat on the dirty floor, not minding the stains that would probably litter his white shirt.

"When did everythin' change, Ichi?"

J let the smoke fall from between his lips and to the sky in gentle wisps. It was magical. His brother had disappeared a few hours ago, but J didn't really care. The only thing he really cared about right now was probably groveling at his master's feet, with orange hair and piercing eyes. J didn't agree with the way Shiro treated his little traffic cone, and his blood pressure started to rise merely at the thought.

"Hey, Ja-, hey J."

"Nice save."

Ichigo smiled as he came out of the shadows and stood next to the shorter man. "I do what I can."

Jase adjusted his glasses when Ichigo came into view, becoming self-conscious with the berry around. Ichigo watched the movement, along with the slight blush on J's cheeks, and smiled.

"I'm supposed to wear glasses too, you know. Never liked them on me, didn't look right."

"I highly doubt that."

"It's true!" Ichigo threw his hands up dramatically. Being around the other mafioso was really natural, and Ichigo felt more comfortable around him than any other person, even Rukia.

"Alright then," J suggested. Ichigo's view of the front lawn was obscured when J dangled his glasses in front of his tan face. "Put 'em on."

Ichigo gave him an incredulous look.

"Please?"

Ichigo sighed and grabbed the glasses roughly, sitting them on his nose like he would have worn his own. The lenses blurred everything in sight, and Ichigo laughed as he almost stumbled.

"You can't see for shit."

"Don't mock me, Traffic Cone. Ain't nice." J said jokingly. As of now, he was looking at the world with blurry eyes like Ichigo, only seeing pretty colors blend together like a good acid trip. The blue of the sky overpowered most of the other colors, but J could still point out Ichigo's pretty orange hair like it were completely clear to him.

"Here." Ichigo handed the glasses back and blinked to refocus his eyes.

"Oh, by the way," J ruffled Ichigo's hair while lightly laughing. "You look way hot with glasses on. You should wear them more often. Maybe Shi would notice you then."

Ichigo's smile fell and his lungs caught on the sudden and forceful intake of breath. He coughed for a moment, and J only watched as the younger man tried to clear his lungs.

"What-What did you just say?"

"You look hot with glasses?" J guessed with a shrug. Ichigo gave him a pointed look.

"Okay, okay. I said Shiro would notice you. The way you look at him..." J's voice came out in a whisper, and he turned away in favor of looking off into endless blue sky. "I could tell. I'm just surprised he hasn't noticed yet."

"I'm sorry." Guilt flooded Ichigo's veins, and traveled until he was consumed with it. J had known. J had known.

"Don't apologize, Ichi. Soon you'll see, and I won't give up until you do."

Ichigo quickly walked around with confusion on his face until he was standing in front of the smaller man, causing their eyes to lock in a small duel.

"See what?" Orange eyebrows furrowed, and J stifled a laugh at the cute image. Oh God, J wanted him. All of him.

"You'll see that you don't want Shiro." J leaned in close, and for a second Ichigo thought he was going to kiss him. Lips settled on centimeters from Ichigo's ear, and the warm breath that blew on it caused a vicious blush to form.

"You'll see that you want me, Ichi, because I want you." Ichigo sucked in a sudden breath as the tip of J's nose traveled along his neck, almost tickling.

"And I won't give up until you're mine."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Ten

Ichigo walked aimlessly around Shiro's house, putting off his duties for thinking time instead. Time seemed to pass most quickly in those moments when Ichigo only wanted to think. The familiar decorations in the hallways invaded Ichigo's visions, but he did not see them. By the time he actually noticed the time, five hours had passed away, never to be gotten back. Slowly but surely tired feet made their way back to the infirmary, padding along the familiar route as their master sat entranced with the mazes in his mind. Surely there would be something to do there.

"Hey." Ishida muttered as Ichigo pushed his way inside the sterile room. The overhead lights were blinding, and Ichigo blinked as his pupils dilated.

"Oh, hey Ishida. What're you still doing here?" Ichigo plopped down in a chair and reclined a bit, sighing in relief as his back popped a few times.

"Eh, some of Boss's newbies got roughed up in a fight and I just finished patching them up. I was about to leave, if you don't need anything that is."

Now that Ichigo was looking, he could notice black circles starting to form under Ishida's eyes.

"Nah, go ahead."

"Thanks." Ishida removed his white jacket and hung it up. As he passed Ichigo he gave him an mischievous glare, as if he knew something that Ichigo didn't.

"And, Doc? Stay here for awhile. You might just get a visitor." Ichigo almost swore his friend was about to smile, and Ishida never smiled.

"A visitor at three in the morning?"

"You never know."

Ichigo's mouth was agape as Ishida turned the door and closed it behind him. The silence didn't bother Ichigo as he stayed frozen in the same position, watching the door. A visitor? This cannot be good. So, Ichigo let time pass as it had for the earlier times. Right now, he was a lost leaf floating on rough waters, waiting, only waiting. There was nothing left to do. He was desperately confused.

"Ichigo?"

"Ah, so you were the visitor, then."

Shiro blinked. "What?"

Ichigo let the chair he was in finally sit back up so he could look at Shiro. As the pale skin came into view Ichigo smiled. "Fancy seeing you here."

Ever since that fateful day, the day of Ichigo's talk with Shiro and J's confession, the relationship between the two had changed drastically. The beatings had stopped, along with name callings, and the servant-master relationship.

It was different, much different. In a good way, of course.

"Oh, yeah." Shiro seemed just as thoughtful as Ichigo had been all day.

"Talked to Nnoitra?" Ichigo asked. Shiro and the taller Jiruga male had broken off...whatever engagement that they had previously been in. Nnoitra left soon after that, Tesla following. The other one, J, he'd stayed. Nnoitra wasn't happy, and Shiro hadn't complained, but Ichigo had noticed the underlying hate in those golden eyes.

"Nah."

"Oh."

Ichigo nodded to an open chair. "Sit? You're makin' me nervous."

Shiro silently complied and sat in the chair, wincing inside as it creaked as he lowered himself into it. He took a moment to look at Ichigo, relaxed in the chair with an indescribable expression. Ichigo's lips seemed to be stuck in a smile, but really, Shiro didn't mind. The other man's smiles were rare sights that many-a-man would pay terrible amounts to see.

Ichigo was a dangerous man, and coming from Shiro, that meant something.

The pale man cleared his throat as awkwardness started to creep into the conversation. Out of habit his fingers began to drum out a random beat on the wood on the chair, and as Shiro glanced back up he found Ichigo still smiling, still watching.

"I think," Ichigo paused as a small laugh fell from his lips, "I think you have ADHD."

Shiro was shocked. Never before had someone called him out on his little nervous habits, and for a split second Shiro was actually angry, but it didn't last long. How he had held so much anger towards the orange-haired man, Shiro didn't know. The beating, the names, all of it made Shiro sick to think about. Now that he actually knew the kid he was...

Shiro gulped. He was what? It was useless to ask a question that he already knew the answer to.

Now that he actually knew Ichigo he was attracted to him.

Attracted to him.

Attracted to...

Attracted...

"I'll see you later, Ichigo." Shiro managed to get out of his mouth before running from the room. His head was pounding, or was that his heart?

"Eh? Shiro!"

His feet carried him farther and farther until he was standing in front of the wooden door to Ichigo's empty room. With a cry of frustration Shiro let his back hit the wall hard, and he slid down slowly with his face in his hands. By now his breath was labored and his heartbeat was nearly off the charts, but Shiro knew it wasn't from exertion. No, not at all.

"Damn it."

By the time Ichigo actually fell asleep the sun was rising on a new day. Sunlight caught the blinds and golden bars highlighted the flooring. Today wouldn't be like yesterday, that Ichigo promised himself. Broody wasn't a good look on anybody. By the time the chirp of the alarm went off at 8 o'clock in the morning, Ichigo was full of resolve. He showered, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and went out to get his daily agenda from Shiro, all on two hours of sleep.

Ichigo pushed the door to the dining room open after hearing Shiro's muffled 'come in'.

"Good morning, Master."

"Hn." Shiro stuck a piece of bacon into his mouth.

Ichigo hid his smile with his hand. Shiro was really cute when he first woke up in the mornings. He never had been a morning person, that much Ichigo knew. A few maids entered, including Rukia, and they gave light bows before scattering to clean up whatever mess the kitchen staff had made this morning.

"What would you like me to do today, Master?"

Ichigo watched as the older man sat the piece of bacon he had been eating on back onto the plate and pursed his lips. "I want to show you something today."

"Ah," Ichigo smiled as brightly as he could, "I'll get right on-wait, what?"

"Hn."

The light blush on Shiro's pale cheeks made Ichigo's curiosity spike. "Show me what, Master?"

Shiro growled. "Don't call me that."

For a moment Ichigo paused to see if Shiro was being serious or not. When Shiro didn't say anything more Ichigo grinned. "Sure thing."

"Ge' some breakfast. Meet me in the front yard in say, thirty minutes?"

"Sure!" Ichigo laughed, but he stopped himself when he realized how much he was acting like a child getting a new toy. "I mean, no problem."

The pale man stood, leaving the nearly clean plate sitting on the table for one of the maids to pick up later. He pushed the chair back in under the table gently before adjusting his jacket and heading for the exit. Shiro always had this grace about him no matter what it was that he was doing. As he padded across the floor Ichigo couldn't help but compare the other man some sort of cat, a predator.

"Oi, Shiro!"

Said man stopped without turning around. "Hm?"

"Where are we going, again?"

Pale hands settled on thin hips in mock annoyance. Shiro turned his torso to face Ichigo, and the wide grin that had settled there made Ichigo shiver and lick his lips. Goose bumps spread out along his tan skin, making the already cold room feel all that much colder.

"It's a surprise!"

Faster than a bullet, the other man was gone from Ichigo's sight.

Ichigo swore he had never eaten that fast before in his life. Renji caught him and laughed when he saw him scarfing down waffles like a malnourished animal.

"Hot date?" He joked.

Ichigo turned his head to hide his blush. "Shut up."

One could not technically count this as a date, could they? No, Ichigo shook his head. Too much wishful thinking.

With a quick 'thank you' to a laughing Renji, Ichigo walked, quickly, to their meeting place. Much to his surprise the other man was already standing there sporting a leather jacket with the collar popped and dark sunglasses. Ichigo had to will his tongue to stay in his head. Without uttering a word Shiro pushed open the door and gently walked into the overly heated world outside. Ichigo followed, keeping all his questions and concerns inside his head. Obviously Shiro was uncomfortable, the tenseness of his walk suggested it, so Ichigo would leave the explaining on Shiro's own terms.

It was hot. Sweat droplets tickled Ichigo's back and his legs, and he cussed himself for wearing jeans. Up ahead Shiro put his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Shiro? Aren't you burning up?"

Ichigo caught the movement of Shiro's shoulders as he shrugged. "My skin can't handle th' sun."

"Can't you carry an umbrella or something?"

Shiro nearly growled at the man following him. "I'm not a woman."

"I know that." Ichigo sighed.

The two only walked for a couple minutes more, but Ichigo was confused. He had never been around this area of the house, so the forest they walked in was new territory. Shiro seemed to be following a trail from his memory. After going over a fallen tree and pushing stray branches out of the way, Shiro and Ichigo entered a clearing.

"Wow." Ichigo breathed.

Ichigo hadn't been prepared for the large garden sitting in the middle of the forest. It was well kept, so someone had to take care of all these flowers. Every color imaginable filled Ichigo's vision, and he blinked in awe. Some were tall, some were close to the ground, and some crawled up the white arches that were placed around the garden's center.

Shiro continued to the garden's center, following the stone path as if following a distant memory. Ichigo tripped over his feet as his eyes remained glued to the rows of flowers, but he caught himself before the destined face-plant. At the exact center sat a bench, white with faded flowers painted along the top.

"Where are we?" Ichigo asked in a whisper, not daring to let his voice disturb the peaceful aura in the garden.

"It was my mother's flower garden. She used to being me here, when I was young..." he trailed off.

Ichigo nodded lightly, urging the other man to continue. This would probably be the last time Shiro would show him something so personal, so many feelings.

"You remind me a lot of her. I think that's why I use to hate you."

"Use to?"

"Hn." Shiro cleared his throat. "She always smiled, even when my father abused her loyalty. I saw...I saw, that while you were like my mother, I had become like my father."

"Shiro..."

Said man turned around, finally facing Ichigo for the first time since their walk had begun. His eyes were still hidden by the sunglasses, but Ichigo didn't need to see his eyes to know what emotions he had going through his body. The bench squeaked as Shiro kicked it with his sneaker; it hadn't been a hard kick, but Ichigo couldn't believe he had even done it. Wasn't that his mother's bench?

"What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry." he lowered his head and bit his lip. "Heh, yeah. I'm sorry."

It was one of those moments where the entire world seemed to stop just for you, pausing to look into your life. An overly cliché moment that many would kill for, and it makes you smile because it's actually happening to you.

"I accept your apology, and thank you, for bringing me here."

Shiro's lips twitched into a small smirk. "Sure thing."

They stayed in the garden for what seemed like only mere minutes, but the afternoon was quickly approaching and the heat was increasing steadily. Sometimes they walked side-by-side in silence, and other times they talked about themselves, about their families, and about other mundane topics. Eventually Shiro's cellphone went off signaling that the two had been missing from the main house for far too long. With twin sighs, Shiro and Ichigo began backtracking along the path they had ventured in on.

They both went home feeling lighter than they had in years.


End file.
